PLACES IN THE STORIES
The places that shaped the memories.
These are real places John knew firsthand. As more stories are added, you can come here to follow the memories through Midnight Pass, Casey Key, Osprey, Nokomis, Venice, and the waters that connect them.
REAL PLACES • REAL PHOTOGRAPHS
The water behind the stories.
These photographs help place the memories on the real Gulf Coast landscape — Midnight Pass, Little Sarasota Bay, Blackburn Point, and the waterways connecting them. Photographs by John Lewis.
MIDNIGHT PASS
Midnight Pass and Little Sarasota Bay
Many of John's Florida memories center on Midnight Pass — bicycles, boats, swimming, tides, wildlife, friends, and days spent learning the water by being in it.
Read “The Way We Found Each Other” →CASEY KEY
Casey Key
Casey Key appears throughout memories of riding north, boating, shoreline exploration, Midnight Pass, and the changing coastal landscape.
Read a Casey Key and Midnight Pass memory →BLACKBURN POINT
Blackburn Point and the Swing Bridge
Blackburn Point and its historic swing bridge are recurring landmarks in John's memories of growing up around Osprey, Casey Key, Little Sarasota Bay, and the Intracoastal Waterway.
Read a story that crosses Blackburn Point Bridge →OSPREY
Osprey, Florida
Osprey is part of the heart of the memoir — friends, school years, boats, South Bay, Blackburn Point, and the network of places young people moved through long before cell phones and location tracking.
Start with the available stories →NOKOMIS
Nokomis, Florida
Nokomis, Nokomis Beach, friends, boats, and the water between communities appear throughout John's stories of childhood freedom and Gulf Coast life.
Read “Just Another Day and Another Adventure” →VENICE
Venice, Florida
Venice appears in school-day stories, boating memories, friendships, local hangouts, and later teenage memories such as nights at the skating rink.
INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY
The Intracoastal Waterway
The Intracoastal was not simply a backdrop. It was a route connecting school, neighborhoods, beaches, bridges, friends, boating, and countless everyday adventures.
Read “Just Another Day and Another Adventure” →ONE MEMORY BRINGS BACK ANOTHER
Remember one of these places?
If one of these places brings something back for you, Reader Memories is where you can see what other people have shared and add your own.